Various GEW campaigns around the world focused on young people as part of their activities, demonstrating entrepreneurship does not have age, gender or boundaries.
El Salvador
GEW El Salvador made a fast start to the week on Nov. 17, with the opening ceremony at del Centro Internacional de Ferias y Convenciones (CIFCO) as well as numerous concurrent activities around San Salvador.
The opening ceremony started with the welcoming words of Jose Angel Quiros from FUSADES, the official host organization in El Salvador. The majority of the audience consisted of young people. Ileana Rogel, from CONAMYPE-Ministry of Economy, which funds entrepreneurship programs, also spoke at the event about their commitment to support the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Adrian Gomez, founder of Elaniin and a teenage entrepreneur, shared his entrepreneurial story. Watch his video.
One of the highlights of GEW El Salvador, “Conversations of Latin Women Entrepreneurs in Agriscience,” also took place on the same day, adding a regional perspective to the week’s activities. Dr. Valdéz (Costa Rica), Dr. Lourdes Yabor (Cuba) and Dr. Beatriz Xoconostle ( México), spoke at the event about their experiences as entrepreneurs in biotechnology.
Watch the opening ceremony video.
Follow GEW Salvador by using the Twitter tags #GEWelsalvador and #ElSalvadoremprende , or on Facebook.
Ireland
David Bradley from Think Ireland, the official host organization in Ireland, reports that 5,000 primary school students participated in Global Entrepreneurship Week across Ireland. Through national partner Bizworld, presidents from seven universities and three institutes of technology are uniting to celebrate the role of education in entrepreneurship. These include:
- Trinity College Dublin - Provost, Patrick Prendergast
- UCC – Vice President of Research, Anita Maguire
- Carlow Institute - President Patricia Mulcahy
- NUI Galway – Vice President of Research, Lokesh Joshi
- Maynooth University - President, Philip Nolan
- University of Limerick - President, Don Barry
- Letterkenny Institute - President Paul Lannigan
- Northern Ireland Science Park - Norman Apsley
- DCU - President Brian McGraith
As part of GEW Ireland, The Irish Times newspaper carried 150,000 copies of a special national edition of GEN Magazine, celebrating GEW and entrepreneurship.
Dane Stangler, vice president of research at the Kauffman Foundation traveled to Ireland to participate in a GEW event, “Research and Innovation – Developing World Class Startups,” on Nov. 19.
Tunisia
GEW Tunisia this year hosted a series of events and meetings to highlight entrepreneurs and encourage Tunisian youth to become entrepreneurs.
Carthage Business Angels, accelerators and incubators hosted the opening ceremony for GEW Tunisia on Monday, Nov. 16, to celebrate the start of the week and officially launch the initiative "Vis ma Vie d’Entrepreneur.”
Mondher Khanfir, co-founder of Wiki Start-Up explained the objectives and the scope of the program, and called all entrepreneurs taking part to begin recording their experiences. "Vis ma Vie d’Entrepreneur” will become a platform after GEW for exchanging knowledge and experience among entrepreneurs, paying tribute to all hard-working entrepreneurs shaping Tunisia’s future.
As part of these activities, Carthage offered IT Thursday on Nov. 19, a collaborative day featuring several guests.
Follow the "Vis ma Vie d’Entrepreneur” blog for details of the program, as well as profiles of entrepreneurs, testimonials of participants, and learn about the many influencers in the Tunisian entrepreneurial ecosystem.